The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-01-07


BILE for Monuments and Wood for
Coffiu,-Iree Roots.
Superintendent L. j. Wells, of Greenwood
cemetery, is "A pleasant voiced man with gray
hair, who has had the care of New York and
Brooklyn's great repository for the dead for
many years. He has seen Greenwood grow
from a vacant, unimproved plot of 200 acres
to tract of surprising beauty, peopled with
nearly 20, 900 of dead, and covering nearly
a square mile of territory. MIR. Wells con-
siders Greenwood the largest and finest
cemetery in the world. 1t was chartered i'll
1893 and the first burial was that of Sarah
Hannah, OF this city, on Sept. ), 1910 Now
there are more than 336, 100 bodies buried
there.
lis the cemetery large enough now" asked
the reporter.
1T is large enough tn furnish lots for the
next twenty-five years, and after that we
don't care The lots will be large enough to
accommodate their owners for years to come,
and we shall have a surplus large enough to
keep the grounds in order forever"
"Then Greenwood will be practically closed
a quarter of a century hence"
THAT is the idea exactly. 1t is large
enough now to be readily handled. Our fund
for the permanent care of the cemetery is be-
$S6l $50 -. Our trust fund for the care of
special graves Is already "a large one, and we
have had the cemetery boundaries fixed by
the streets and boulevar,is Of the city, so that
the present boundaries will he permanent.
All that will be done to the grounds after
1910, then, will be to keep them looking
beautiful
NOT A STOCK COMPANY.
You see. the Greenwood Cemetery corpo-
ration is not a stock company, most SINH
lar associations are. 1t is a trust company,
and no one gets any money out of it save
the employees. All that remains after the
annual expenses are paid is added to the sur
plus fund that is being put away for the
future care Of the cemetery. Every lot
owner il a stakeholder. There are over
25,OOO of them. Every improvement has
been made upon the grounds. We have
stone crusheTs. artesian wells, thorough sew
erage, and have just finished new reservoir
to hold Is. 900 gallons, that stands on Mount
Washington, the highest point Long
Island, and Is about 10 feet above tide
water This stores the water pumped from
our wells, and gives greater and much
needed pressure. n new eight-inch water
main will be laid this fall, taking the place
of one of our four inches. The changes in
Greenwood since | came here in 1873 have
been marvellous. am the only one left of
the attaches who were here them"
What is the most durable material for
monuments"
Dark blue granite, from Quincy, Mass.
Bronze comes next, but it is costly, and il is
being attulterated much now that some of
it is poor. There has been great revolution
in the grGvestone business People have
found out that blue granite is the best stone
to wear, and they are using nothing else.
It.l a,II.
ten years ago. There are veins in it which
are imperceptible when the work is new, but
which exposure develops, and then the work
of ruin begins. We do not allow Enclosures
to be made of il at all, and the best stone
cutters will not recommend it to customers
All Enclosures now are required to be of
granite coping, or granite posts and bars of
either galvanized iron or brass. No iron
chains hedges are allowed. This course
will keep the grounds from Disagreement in
after years. IL is the result of dearly
bought experience BrOwnstone, No. there
hasn't been any brownstone used here for
twenty years. 1t Is not durable. Scotch
granite, too, doesn't stand as we expected it
would. Light granite turns yellow with
age.
ToMBs OUT OF REPAIR.
DO tombS ever fall i'm"
~Some of the old ones get out of repair In
the early days people were allowed to build
them of brick and i'm the most imperfect man
ner Now require that the tops of all
tomls shall he thick granite slab, so as to
shed water. The back and corners have to
be solid pieces also, and the walls have to be
two feet thick with upright joints.
William ). Ridabock, of New York, 10 erect
| ing one down the avenue built after the
| manner l have just described that will stand
| for ages. 1t Will cost $4,000"
Will collins that are made now last as long
| as those formerly usedf
II think the old fashioned mahogany cot
fins would outlast by far almost any other
coffin. Many of the cOffins that they sell
now are simply glued together-not even
| nailed We've learned this from experience
| After bodies have been left i'll the receiving
| vault a few weeks the glue is dissolved by
| moisture and the collins come apart. Metal
lie collins are readily affected by heat and
cold and hence spring and break; that Is
| they do i'll receiving vaults"
| Does "a wooden box protect coffinf'
| "On the contrary, if made of pine it will
/ warp quickly and catch and retain water
fastening decay A box of chestnut will las
longer than anything else underground
| Even in mud amt water it will hold together
/ for years.
! wv hich are the best woods for coffinss'
| Chestnut and black walnut are the mos
| durable But long body is to remain
where it l. buried. it makes little difference
| what it j. encaScd III.
! DO trees push their roots into graves a
much "a j. popularity supposedf'
! Some ,rrt-> are bad for cemeteries-tw,
/ that have ~ mind particularly. They ar
| the aianthuS and the white leaved maple
| Neither of these varieties is allowed in Green
wood becuuSe the roots spread ~ rapidly
| New Nor!s Tribune.
The Terrace of the Capitol.
Work on the marble terrace around tn
Washington Capitol l. steadily going for